Modern farming practices key to affordable food

Isaac Kalua

The recent budget statement by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich will be remembered for the cheap ugali it proposed. This underlies how affordability of basic food remains a pressing challenge that has bedeviled the country for years. A two-kilo maize flour packet has been selling for more than Sh100 for years now. Milk too, remains a luxury beyond the reach of low-earning Kenyans. Although a bunch of ‘sukuma wiki’ has constantly sold for Ksh5 for decades, the size of the bunch keeps getting smaller.

The fact is, food prices shoot high mostly because of man-made factors that include unsustainable farming practices, over-reliance on specific food, cartel-control of certain foodstuff plus food storage challenges.